So it begins – Beijing’s Olympic shutdown was put into place last Sunday, restricting the number of cars on the road and shuttering pollution-emitting factories in preparation for the big event. It’s all an effort to temporarily clear the skies of Beijing’s famously thick air pollution, which would not only be an embarrassment for the city but could hamper athletic performance.
From MyWay:
Striking venues and $40 billion spent to improve infrastructure cannot mask Beijing’s dirty air. A World Bank study found China is home to 16 of the 20 worst cities for air quality. Three-quarters of the water flowing through urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has repeatedly warned that outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if the air quality is poor.
Under the two-month plan, vehicles will be allowed on the roads every other day depending on even-odd registration numbers. In addition, 300,000 heavy polluting vehicles – aging industrial trucks, many of which operate only at night – were banned beginning July 1.
If I were a Beijing resident, I’d be pissed. You (might) get clean air for a few weeks, and then it’s back to being crushed by a wall of industrial pollution. Good times.
Link [My Way]
Photo credit: Flickr user Digging for Fire
